From the AP:
President Bush’s push to give the military a bigger role in responding to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina could lead to a loosening of legal limits on the use of federal troops on U.S. soil.
Pentagon officials are reviewing that possibility, and some in Congress agree it needs to be considered.
Bush did not define the wider role he envisions for the military. But in his speech to the nation from New Orleans on Thursday, he alluded to the unmatched ability of federal troops to provide supplies, equipment, communications, transportation and other assets the military lumps under the label of “logistics.”
The president called the military “the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment’s notice.”
At question, however, is how far to push the military role, which by law may not include actions that can be defined as law enforcement—stopping traffic, searching people, seizing property or making arrests. That prohibition is spelled out in the Posse Comitatus Act of enacted after the Civil War mainly to prevent federal troops from supervising elections in former Confederate states.
Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said, “I believe the time has come that we reflect on the Posse Comitatus Act.” He advocated giving the president and the secretary of defense “correct standby authorities” to manage disasters.
Well, imagine that: federal politicians have decided they need more power and less Constitutional oversight. Shocking, I realize, but there it is.
Of course, any change would be yet another example of media-driven change for the sake of making a change—an opportunity for the federal government to look like it’s doing something in order to appease its scrupulous media overlords, who for their part wield their power by convincing the public, via sensationalistic coverage and a steady stream of misinformation and obfuscation (for instance, how many Americans, to this day, have any idea what FEMA does, or who controls the Guard, who is responsible for rescue operations, etc). But the fact of the matter is, the only change needed is for the federal government, working in conjunction with state Governors, to shore up the loophole that Governor Blanco’s series of indecisions exposed: namely, what she happen automatically in the event first responders don’t respond, and the state leadership is somehow incapacitated.
It seems to me that a such a time, Guard troops could be called in from neighboring locales—under joint command of the governors of those states and the feds on scene —to work law enforcement and rescue, and active duty military, if needed, can be brought in to perform ancilliary functions as necessary.
But what we don’t need is to rethink Posse Comitatus. The US has plenty of resources at the state and local level to handle emergencies, and agreements between states to share resources in times of disasters will be much more efficient in bringing that kind of relief than the federal government, which should maintain its supporting role of coordination and management.
Having armed active duty military forces performing law enforcement functions is unnecessary except in extreme cases already provided for under Posse Comitatus, and should be a very last resort. Instead, what we need is a stronger LOCAL response, which is the product of a state government taking more responsibility for managing its affairs in conjuction with the federal government.
This worked fine in Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama; it failed, however, in New Orleans because the local plan for evacuation (transporting and housing evacuees) was clearly not a priority for local officials. The plan was incomplete—and it’s breakdown, and the audibles called in its wake, disrupted the larger national plan, which relies upon a strong local response.
Ceding further control to the federal government makes state governments even more dependent on the feds, and so less accountable to their constituencies. And that is precisely the wrong direction to go—unless, of course, you are a big government type looking for centralized control and uniform standards regardless of local contingencies. Which would make you at best a soft-socialist. Or a national politician.
Me, I’d prefer that local elections matter, and that state governments not be so quick to run to the feds for help. Of course, I live in a state with a strong Governor, so I don’t worry too much; in fact, I suspect what happened in NOLA was an anomoly—a perfect storm of fierce natural disaster and local incompetence which, if we are honest about assessing it, will point out places in the national plan that need contingency fixes; but what I also suspect is that an honest assessment will show that the current coordinated plan, which keeps first response and Guard control with the states, is the best plan.
Sadly, though, the desire to make sweeping, cosmetic, feel-good bureaucratic changes—particularly in the face of strong media-driven “public” pressure—is too much for many national politicians to resist. Hopefully, though, cooler heads will prevail, and conservative politicians—and I’m looking at you, President Bush, and you, John Warner, should know better—will be wise and take their cues from the evacuees of Katrina, who want to see a better local response, not a bigger, more ponderous federal government trying to run things from Washington.
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update: additional thoughts here .
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update 2: More here.
A simple contract signed between FEMA and each States Governor.
1) In the event the State fails to follow the approved State/FEMA disaster plan either through incompetence or incapacitation, the Federal Government will have the legal right to fly in x number of MP’s for the purpose of law and order for y number of days.
Where x is an appropriate number for each state and y is 7 days or 10 days or 14 days.
Please, please, please leave Posse Comitatus alone. I know the 82nd Airborne walking the streets makes for nifty video clips – but this is the type of problem for the National Guard. If it gets so bad that the Regular forces need to come in, there is a way to do it. As for the Guard, we understand our role, and are used to working under the direction of state and local authorities. I remember as a 1LT in the 1993 Mississippi Flood being at the beck and call of every alderman, levee district commissioner and local sheriff around.
Disclaimer – these are purely my personal opinions, and not those of the ILARNG or anyone else in any position of authority to make policy.
You’d have to do a lot of defining first, Bruce. After all, we’ve spend two weeks talking about FEMA failure when, 3 weeks after a hurricane that wiped out the entire infrastructure and flooded the city of New Orleans, power grids are back on and some businesses are up and running.
I’m with John.
The lesson I take away from Katrina is that the current FEMA setup works if you have a strong local/state government in place. If you don’t (I.E. Louisiana) it doesn’t. How you address this from a constitutional standpoint I don’t know.
In a perfect world, people would hold the local and state officials accountable for their actions (or inactions). But, I’m not seeing that happen in Louisiana. I don’t think that creating a law which gives the Feds absolute power in the event of a declared emergency is a great idea but what else is there? You can’t write a law that says “local and state officials are in charge unless they suck”.
Or do we just maintain status quo and hope the Louisiana electorate eventually comes to its senses? Maybe so.
Jeff,
I think the key is that the state doesn’t get a contract unless its “plan” is in order and they promise to abide by the plan if possible. And the contract gets renewed every say … 2 years.
That way we can have the debate before the disaster hits.
And how many people who blame FEMA and the federal Government for everything that went bad in NO, and sound like they would have been perfectly happy for President Bush to ignore legal agreements and Constitutional safeguards, are going to look at this solution and decide that it’s a set-up so that Bushitler can declare nationwide martial law immediately after the next terrorist attack?
(I know that 15 years ago I would have.)
The current FEMA set up works, period. In this Federalist system of government, the States are autonomous, they can plan their Emergency Preparedness any way they want. The only caveat is when they take Federal Money for training, etc. then they are obligated to perform a certain way. That is your contranct.
LA knew that they should not expect any significant first responder role assistance from the FEMA. Blanco dithered and delayed, but once the Guard got in, they did what they were designed to do. The problem wasn’t in the contract the state had with FEMA, the problem was with the state not living up to that contract.
I think cooler heads will prevaiol; there are too many other Governors who do not want the Feds probing around in their state Govt’s.
The key is people need to understand if they elect incompetent welfare pimps to local office they need to pray for good weather.
FEDERALIST !!!
I think Bush tossed the idea out there in its most extreme terms–military taking over–to turn the spotlight back on the state and local officials who screwed up here. He’s backed his critics into a corner and rightly so. We in CA know that the Feds are only helpers, after the immediate
quake responders. We want local politicians answerable to us to take charge, not the Feds.
What can Nagin and Blanco say now? “Next time I won’t screw up so bad, Dad” or “Next time just take over my state”?
Bruce, NO had a plan, okayed by FEMA, that was written probably only to get the dough. They didn’t implement it.
Jeff – I agree, but you stopped short. Let’s get the federal nose out of a couple other tents:
1. Social Welfare, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Family Assistance, Social Services, etc. Why? Well, start with the Constitution. This power was taken by the feds (remember FDR’s little “court packing” attempt that swung the Supreme Court vote?) not granted by the Constitution. Second, performance. The federal track record could not be worse – 80% of our national largesse never makes it into the hands of the needy. New Orleans is a “poster child” for how the feds have pissed away more than six trillion since the ‘60s in the “War on Poverty”. Third, addressing real needs. Here is a radical question: When personal needs are unique, why is the fed answer always the same – “give them more money”? (No, I am not naive; in reality, vote buying is the objective and not taking care of individual needs.) Money alone is rarely the answer; addressing real needs can only be accomplished through local funding and administration. Fourth, the benefit of local giving. Relieving the fed tax burden will permit more citizens more time to help through which will naturally develop local relationships that will, in turn, will relieve social tensions. And, watch the economy boom, creating more jobs that further alleviate the need.
2. Secondary Education. How about this letter from each community as a start?
“Dear feds (& state), Thank you for your help these many years, but we have looked at the latest world rankings on educational achievement and have decided to make a change. (Frankly, we think our children would have learned more if taught by wolves.) Therefore, starting now, we, the parents in this community, will call the shots on what our children will learn, how they will learn it and who will teach them. Oh, and the teachers will take direction from our school board and be responsive to solely to it.
We appreciate your disappointment with our decision, but please know that it is final and that we intend to change the locks. We will, however, keep your name on file and call you if we need you. Love & kisses.â€Â
Jeff, there’s a very related issue that could heat up real soon. The Mayor or New Orleans is insisting on letting evacuees return way before FEMA’s people say it’s safe to. Does Bush have the right to invoke the Insurrection Act and use Federal troops to keep the Mayor from doing something stupid that will endanger the lives of thousands of U.S. citizens?
I think that the real “movers and shakers” (for lack of a better word) of the left were aiming at this outcome from the git-go. I know it’s unfashionable to say so, but the far left has never made any secret of their desire to destroy this country’s political system, or the fact that any lies are acceptable to gain such and end (much like the Islamo-fascists).
With the demise of the Soviet Union, it has become almost an intellectual felony to mention Communists as any kind of threat, or even to mention the word “communist”. Unfortunately, the same people who have been leading the Communist party for decades are STILL there, and have not changed their views or tactics one iota. Nor have they changed their desire to destroy the USA. How many people remember Krushev saying that the communists will bury us without firing a shot?
If anyone has trouble believing this, take a look at our public schools. Take a look at the credits for the “Mother Cindy” movie. Take a look at how the ACLU and the liberal courts are frantically trying to wipe out any vestige of “God” in this country (And no, I am not “religious” by any means). And, scariest of all, take a look at DU or the Kossacks. Totally ignorant, and anxious to scream it from the rooftops.
The weakening or abolishment of posse comatatus is exactly what the doctor ordered as far as the left is concerned. This is a very concrete step in their march to total federal power. I happen to believe that Bush will want to tread very carefully around any changes, but that Congress will have no such reluctance, because they know how ignorant their constituents are, and as far as most of them are concerned, the more power they have, the better. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of our Congress themselves have no fucking clue as to what FEMA is, and what it’s role is.
I have already written my Senators, but expect that my messages will be cut off by arrogant little pricks that are known as “aides”, unless they are inundated with similar missives. Fat chance, as it appears that there are only about six people I know who have any idea Bush is prevented by law from parachute into a disaster area leading a FEMA SWAT team with guns blazing.
And who would be responsible for this ignorance? How about the F’ing left wing politicos and their handmaidens, the MSM? Sometimes I think my wife has it right when she says: “How can you be interested in that shit?”. She speaks for a much larger segment of Americans than I do. Scary, huh?
As an aside (speaking of venal liars), check out what our trailer park trash ex President had to say on ABC’s “This Week” today. This is a man that exemplifies the worst of the left, and yet is still just as popular as Brittany Spears.
http://www.powerlineblog.com
After re-reading this post, I see that I am seriously depressed. Have you ever noticed that the more depressed you are, the more pissed off and self righteous you get about politics? Now I see why I’ve always thought of the KosKids as psychotics. It’s because THEY ARE…
[the National Response Plan] worked fine in Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama; it failed, however, in New Orleans because the local plan for evacuation (transporting and housing evacuees) was clearly not a priority for local officials.
Exactly right. The current disaster system does work, and it works well. But only when the local and state officials take disaster preparedness seriously. Louisiana and New Orleans officials clearly did not take that seriously, and could only panic when the real thing started heading for them. I’ve seen this before at lower levels of government.
Major John is correct when he says:
I’ve worked with enough active duty military personnel to know that they generally do not understand Federal-state-local government roles. I’ve seen some really stupid comments made by senior officers during their attempts to integrate military contingency plans with civilian response plans.
Posse Comitatus was originally written for the Civil War reconstruction era, but it has a valid application here and now.
It does not need changing.
As for “contracts” between FEMA and the states….that won’t work. Funding is provided by Congress for FEMA to disburse; that’s the way the Constitution is written. Any “contract” would have to be between Congress and the States. Would you expect Senator Landrieu to enforce such a contract? I don’t think so!